The present disclosure relates, in general, to a seal assembly and method and, more particularly, to a segmented labyrinth seal assembly and method for sealing against the leakage of fluid.
Segmented labyrinth seal assemblies are often used to seal against the leakage of fluid in applications involving a rotating shaft that penetrates a fixed casing such as in turbo machine, centrifugal compressor, and the like. These type of seal assemblies usually include a series of arcuate labyrinth segments disposed in an end-to-end relationship and together extending around the rotating shaft with minimal clearance. The segments are adapted to expand during light loads or sudden loss of load to minimize rubbing damage caused by misalignment, vibration and thermal distortion.
However, these assemblies are often difficult to assemble, do not necessarily provide uniform loading on all segments, and are difficult or impossible to adjust.
Therefore, what is needed is a segmented seal assembly of the above type that is relatively easy to assembly, provides uniform loading on all segments of the assembly and can easily be adjusted.